International Journal of Humanities and Management Sciences (IJHMS) Volume 3, Issue 4 (2015) ISSN 23204044 (Online)

Comparative Analysis on Personality Traits and

Motivation on International Studentss

Academic Performance in Universities in
Taiwan
Janell Roshea Dawson, Cheng-Ping Shih, Ph.D.

AbstractTo what extent does personality traits of the Big

Five Personality Traits and Motivation predict academic
performance for international students in Taiwan in
Universities was investigated in a quantitative study.
Academic performance was assessed at via Test of Chinese
as a Foreign Language (TOCFL) in the reading and listening
section. The dimensions of the Big Five Personality Traits
using its ten aspects traits were examined as an indicator of
academic performance followed by the indicators of
motivation using the academic motivation scale to also test
academic performance. Secondly, an assessment will be done
to determine which of the facets traits of the Big Five
Personality Traits and motivation have a significant
correlation in predicting in academic performance among
students. The instrumentation is derived from the Big Five
Aspects of Personality and that categorize each of the Big
Five into two aspects. To test motivation, a 28- item
questionnaire adapted from the Academic Motivation Scale.

KeywordsPersonality Traits, Motivation on International

Studentss Academic Performance in Universities in
Taiwan..

I. INTRODUCTION
THE Big Five Personality dynamics and motivation are
two of the most commonly used instruments in
predicting performance. The majority of the studies based
on both Big Five Personality Traits and motivation
address the issue of predicting job performance, while
some of the studies are engrossed on more specific
situations, such as academic performance or training
performance (Trapmann, Hell, Hirn &

Schuler, 2007; Vansteenkiste et al. 2005).

Students contrast in their personal values, as not all
students are the same. They obtain and process
information differently; their personality trait is
different and hence, also their understanding and/or the
way they perceive information. It is often deliberated

that a combination of personality types is necessary for

people to be successful in their career. Educators,
researchers, and psychologists have been constantly
searching for a set of variables that predicts outlines of
students behaviors and their relationship to academic
achievement. Students enrolled in college tend to
prefer
Janell Roshea Dawson, Cheng-Ping Shih, Ph.D. , are with Graduate
Institute of International Human Development, National Taiwan
Normal University, 162, Section 1, Heping E. Road, Taipei 10610,
Taiwan, R.O.C, Email id: janellrdawson@gmail.com and
Cpshih49@hotmail.com

learning environments that is coherent with their own

personality type preference. Many scholars have
accepted the five-factor model of personality as a
replicable and unifying taxonomy of personality
(Digman, 1990; Goldberg, 1992) and have found
personality traits to be significantly related to
successful job and school performance, both logically
and statistically (Hogan & Hogan, 1989). Many
researches about motivation have concluded that it is
related to many outcomes such as curiosity,
persistence, learning and performance (Deci & Ryan,
1985). There are several conceptual perspective have
proposed that in order to better understand motivation,
it can be divided into categories: intrinsic, extrinsic and
amotivation (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 1991)
Purpose Of Study
Nevertheless, there is a lack of accessible research
addressing the role of motivation and personality as a
predictor of achievement in universities in Taiwan among
international students. The purpose of this study is,
therefore, to examine and assess the impact of personality
type and motivation on the academic performance of
international students enrolled at the undergraduate and
graduate level using the Big Five Aspect Scale (BFAS)
and Academic Motivation Scale. Hence the importance of
this study, which will examine and compare whether and
to what extent the ten aspects of the Big Five Personality
Trait Theory and Motivation can predict academic
performance among international university students.

Determine the personality traits that significantly

correlates and predicts academic performance

Question of Study

Determine whether motivation plays a significant role

in predicting academic performance.

Based on the intentions to evaluate the impact of

personality traits on academic performance in
Taiwans university among international students, this
research purposes to answer the following questions:

To close research gaps where Taiwan is concern, and to

offer both academic and practitioners additional insight
in educational issues such as admissions to college or
graduate programs.

Do the Big Five and motivation dimensions have a

significant effect on international students academic

209

International Journal of Humanities and Management Sciences (IJHMS) Volume 3, Issue 4 (2015) ISSN 23204044 (Online)

performance in the TOCFL exam enrolled in

universities in Taiwan?
Do the aspects of personalities have an effect on
Academic performance?
Do the dimensions of motivation have an effect of
academic performance?
What aspect of the Big 5 Personality traits has a
positive effect on students academic performance?
What dimensions of motivation has a positive effect
on students academic performance
II. DETAILS OF THE BIG FIVE
TheFiveFactorModelofpersonalitytraittheory
presents5majorpersonalityconstructs,withineach
ofwhicharegroupedseveralsecondary/minor/sub
facettraits.Thefivemajortraitshereafterreferredto
inthisresearchfollowtheOCEANacronymderived
fromfivefactortheorywhichusesOpenness(O),
Conscientiousness(C),Extraversion(E),
Agreeableness(A),andNeuroticism(N);therehas
alwaysbeenterminologyambiguityconcerningthe
namingofthetraits,butaspreviouslymentioned,
thereiscertainlygeneralconsensusintermsofwhat
isbeingmeasured/observedineachtrait.TheFFM
includesanumberofpropositionsaboutthenature
anddevelopmentalcourseofeachofthemajor
personalitytraits,aswellasabouttherelationof
thesetraitstotheirrespectivesubfacetsandtothe
behavioraloutcomesassociatedwitheach.
TheworkofCosta&McCraeisconsideredinvaluable
tothisparticularpointinfivefactortheory,because
theiroriginalnamingofthemajorandsubtraitsismost
popularlyusedasabasisforfurtherinvestigation.For
example,thetablebelowisbasedontheuseofCosta&
McCraesNEOPersonality

Inventorytestasameasureofthebigfivetraits.The
tableisasummarizationofthebigfivetraits,the
namesanddefinitionsoftheirrespectivesubfacet
traits,andprofileadjectivesdescribingwhathigh
andlowscoringmeanswithineachtrait.Following
thissummarytable,adetailedexaminationofthe
BigFiveisgiven.
Extroversion
As one of the first traits to be highlighted as
significant across the research, extroversion has
perhaps always appeared in factor-analytic models,
and is one of the traits to appear even in non fivefactor models, such as Eysenck's PEN model. The
term is incredibly recognizable - and possibly
overused to the point of misnomer even outside the
realm of trait psychology. At its simplest, the term

implies an energetic approach to the social and

material world (Popkins, 2010) and high scorers in
extroversion are described as having personality
traits such as sociability, high activity, assertiveness,
and positive emotionality. It has been referred to as
social adaptability, though the popularity of this term
seems to be waning (Zuckerman, 1971). This
emphasis on comfort in social interaction and the
external is what is possibly most distinctive about
persons who can be considered extroverts.
It is important to discuss traits associated with both
extremes of each major trait spectrum. Again,
because of the wide understanding of the term
extrovert, most laymen will
have an idea of what it means to be considered an
introvert; scientifically, that is, those who score low
on the extroversion scale. Low scorers tend to lack
the exuberance, energy, and activity levels of
extroverts.
The 6 sub-facet traits on the Extroversion (E) scale
in the NEO Personality Inventory are Warmth,
Gregariousness, Assertiveness, Activity, ExcitementSeeking, and Positive Emotions. Observing these as
examples of the five-factor sub-facet structure, it is
relatively easy to see and understand how the
structure works to present a comprehensive picture
of personality. Each of these sub-facets has its
unique definition but they exist under the umbrella
of Extroversion, each adding more detail to the
overall concept.
Agreeableness
The Agreeableness (A) scale trait is primarily meant
to measure interpersonal tendencies; that is, how
compatible a person is with others, or, more
importantly, how interested a person is in getting
along with others. The highly agreeable individual is
fundamentally concerned with cooperation, altruism,
and social harmony a people person. Goldberg
used the lexical approach to define Agreeableness as
a major trait domain from the occurrence of
personality words similar to the construct in
language and in other previous work (Goldberg,
1994). The personality words used as sub-facet
terms under Agreeableness illustrate the goodnatured friendliness of the high scoring end of this
trait easily and perfectly:
Trust (in others) Agreeable people are optimistic
about people and their intentions. They believe
people are basically decent and so they trust easily.
Compliance Because they are interested in social
harmony, Agreeable people are more likely to
compromise and/or avoid confrontations in order to
get along.
Sympathy Also referred to as Tender Mindedness,

it refers to an ability to be compassionate and

empathetic.
Conscientiousness
Conscientiousness relates to a persons level of
attention.
In the English language the basic dictionary term has
its meaning derived from the conscience and this is
reflected in the definitions measured within the subfacets of the domain. Some of the sub-facets seem
more aligned with the moral connotation of the term
conscientious and some align with the ideas of
meticulousness and carefulness that relate to the
210

conscience. Either way, Conscientiousness is

associated with self-control this is reflected in the
fact that the term used for low-scorers on the scale is
Impulsive. The opposite of a Conscientious
individual in personality theory is an Impulsive
individual.
The NEO PI-R sub-facets of Conscientiousness are
Competence, Order, Dutifulness, AchievementStriving, Self-Discipline, and Deliberation.
Conscientiousness gets a lot of attention in terms of
how it can benefit individuals in society. Obviously,
high scoring in these constructs can be perceived as
desirable character traits, especially in a work
environment. High scoring in Competence, SelfDiscipline and Deliberation

International Journal of Humanities and Management Sciences (IJHMS) Volume 3, Issue 4 (2015) ISSN 23204044 (Online)

is a reflection of abilities to think things through,

plan for the future, and be careful in terms of ones
actions. High Order accounts for the neatness and
thoroughness associated with Conscientious persons.
Achievement-striving as a facet is somewhat selfexplanatory, as it measures exactly that the degree
to which the individual values success and is willing
to work towards it. The extreme high end of these
traits can combine into a workaholic, perfectionist
type nature, or perhaps be considered boring or even
be associated with types of compulsive disorders
Openness
Openness,alsoknownasopennesstoexperienceor
intellect,isheldasabroaddimensionofindividual
experiences,thatincludesbothstructuraland
motivationalaspects:Opennessisseenasbreadth,
depthandpermeabilityofconsciousness,andinthe
recurrentneedtoenlargeandexamineexperience
(McCrae&Costa,1992).Thestructuralaspectof
opennessrecallsRokeachs(1960)classic
conceptionofdogmatismintermsoflabeledbeliefs,
andalso
Hartmanns(1991)descriptionofthickandthin
boundariesinthemind.Themotivationalsideof
opennesssuggestslinkstoMurrays(1938)needs
forunderstanding,change,andsentienceaswellas
Zuckermans(1979)ExperienceSeeking.
Thesubfacetsthatindividualspossesswithhigh
opennesstraitstendtobeliberal,creative,curious
andaestheticallymindedandfantastical.Theyare
alsocharacterizedasbeingmorewillingtohave
interestnovelideasandinterestsandexperience
positiveandnegativeemotionsmoredeeply.In
contrast,lowscorerstendtobehavemore
conservatively,holdmoreconformistvalues,and
experienceathinnerrangeofaffectthanhighscorers
(Jonassaintetal.,2010)
UnlikeNeuroticismandExtraversion,Openness
appearstobeabstractlydirectlyrelatedto
intelligence,ratherthanmerelyaffecttest
performance(psychometricintelligence).
Conversely,otherresearchershavefavoredtorefer
toOpennessasIntellectorCulture,decipheringthis
personalitytraitintermsofintrospectivereflection
andintellectualknowledge(Goldberg,1994;
Johnson,1994;Saucier,1994).Opennessis
consequentlylinkedwithintellectualcuriosity,vivid
imagination,andbehavioralflexibility(McCrae&
Costa,1997),butalsowithunderstandingability,
knowledgeinscience,changeandautonomy
(Ashton,Lee,Vernon,&Jang,2000).
Neuroticism
OfallthetraitswithintheBigFivePersonalityTrait,

neuroticismisthetraitthatisconsideredtobe
negativeorbad.Personalityresearchers
habituallyreverseitandrefertoitasemotional
stability.Stablepeoplearecalmunderpressure
whileneuroticpeopletendtobeanxious,
pessimistic,stressed,upset,fearful,andemotionally
unstable(Houghetal.,1990).

Neuroticismhasaverystrongbiologicalbasis;the
twomostfundamentaltraitsareneuroticismand
extraversion.TheydateallthewaybacktoAncient
Greece,whereHippocrates(460370BC),aGreek
physicianlabeledpeopleasbelongingtooneoffour
personalitytypesdependingonhowcalm/excitable
andmorose/sanguinetheywere.
Subsequently,Eysenck(1967)proposedjusttwo
personalitytraits,extraversionandneuroticism,
beforefurtherresearchexpandedtothreeand
eventuallyfive.
Thoughconscientiousnessandagreeablenessmaybe
associatedtohighercognitivefunctionsofinhibition
andexecutivecontrolextraversionandneuroticism
aremoreassociatedwiththeolder,system1
regions.Manystudieshavefoundthatneuroticismis
relatedtotheAmygdala,whichisconsideredtobe
anold,primalareaofthebrainthatisaccountable
forsensingemotions,specificallyfear.
Gray(1970)proposedthattherearetwoindependent
regionsinthebrain:theBehavioralActivation
System(BAS)andtheBehavioralInhibitionSystem
(BIS).TheBAS,theorizedasextraversion,which
concernsapersonssensitivitytorewardandtheir
probabilityofapproachingdesirablestimuli,
whereastheBIS(neuroticism)looksatsensitivityto
punishmentandevadingaversivestimuli.Aperson
canbehighinboth:aneuroticextravertwouldbe
delicatetobothpositiveandnegativeemotions.Itis
forthisreasonthatresearchershaveused
measurementsofBAS/BIStodeterminewhena
bipolarpatientisduetoundergoamanicor
depressiveepisode.
Personalachievementfurtherfallsunderthewheels
ofneuroticism.Forexample,thetraitisconsistently
relatedtopoorjobperformanceduetoits
associationswithlowselfconfidenceandhigh
anxiety,hostilityandvulnerability.Somestudies
evensuggestthatemotionalstabilityisasimportant
forjobsuccessasconscientiousness(Kendler,Kuhn
&Prescott,2004).
Additionally,itisanimportantintercessorofexam
success,becauseneuroticstendtofeelalotmore
stressandanxietyunderexamconditions,which
disturbstheirperformance.Thisissaidtooccur
becauseneuroticpeopleareverysensitivetointernal
andexternalnegativestimuli,whichescalates

mentalnoiseandmakesithardtopayattentionto
thetaskathand
(Halamandaris&Power,1999).
Big Five Aspect of Personality
Personalitytraitdimensionscanbecategorizedor
groupedbyorganizingthemintohierarchies,based
ontheirintercorrelations.Broaddomainssuchas
thoseoftheBigFive(Extraversion,
Conscientiousness,etc.)eachincorporatingmany
linkedtraits,arelocatednearthetopofthe
hierarchy,andveryspecificpatternsofbehaviorand
experience(e.g.beingsociable)arelocatednearthe
bottom.Theestablishmentofthesehierarchieshas
beenoneofthemainconcernsofphysiologistsfor
211

closetoacentury.TheBigFiveAspectof
Personality,developedbyDeYoung,Quilty,and
Peterson(2007)isatheorythatadditionally
developstheBigFivePersonalityTraitsby
categorizingeachofthefivedimensionsintototwo
aspects.Theaspectsrepresentalevelofprecision
betweentheBigFivePersonalityTraitsandthe
RevisedNEOPersonalityInventorysfacets.
AstudyconductedinlargeCanadianandGerman
samplesshowedthattherearetwogeneticfactorsthat
areresponsibleforthesharedvarianceofthesixfacet
scalesthatmakesuptheBigFiveintheNEOPI(Jang,
etal.,2002).Therefore,eachoftheBigFivedomains
happenstobetheoreticallydividableintotwo
subdomainswithdistinctbiologicalsources.This

International Journal of Humanities and Management Sciences (IJHMS) Volume 3, Issue 4 (2015) ISSN 23204044 (Online)

findingissufficientenoughtomotivateresearchinto
anintermediatelevelofpersonalitystructure.

study is of particular interest, since the authors

claimed that there had been virtually no research on
personality and SAT scores at the time, and the SAT
is an internationally recognized test of academic
achievement. Also of repute was the fact that Noftle
and Robins replicated their findings across 4
different personality inventories and found that
participants scoring in Openness was the strongest
predictor of SAT verbal scores, that
Conscientiousness predicted high school and college
GPA and of course, proved that personality traits
have independent effects on academic outcomes,
even when controlling for
traditional predictors of these outcomes, such as
controlling for SAT scores when examining college
GPA.

Fig1.BetweenFacetsandDomains:TenAspectsofthe
BigFive

Existing Research on the Big Five and Academic

Success
There is a pattern found to reveal strong
relationships between specific Big Five traits and
positive academic performance and the patterns
associating the sub-facet level more strongly with
the academic outcomes than the more broad metatraits. In reviewing the existing literature perhaps
most interesting and, in the end, most compelling
towards the need for execution of similar work in
Taiwan, was the patterns found in the geographical
replication of the findings. It is this repetition of
findings in different nations that are compelling to
the idea that similar findings can be expected from
this research among international students in Taiwan.
The literature presented reveals as its foundation the
rationality of using Big Five personality traits to
review, these are Openness to Experience,
Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and
Neuroticism - to predict academic outcomes. One of
many research examples supporting this point is the
study by Conard, (2006), which investigated validity
of the Big 5 for predicting college GPA and course
performance. Their results concluded that
personality measures are promising predictors of
academic outcomes and showed that
Conscientiousness predicted both their investigated
criterion. Similarly, Noftle, and Robins, (2007),
examined the relationship between Big 5 traits and
SAT scores and high school and college GPA. This

As mentioned, according to the existing literature,

the deeper level of trait facets seem to be even more
strongly related to academic outcomes than just the
Big Five. Paunonen, and Ashton, (2001) studied two
of the Big 5 factors - Conscientiousness and
Openness - along with 2 of their constituent narrow
personality traits - Need for Achievement and Need
for Understanding - to predict final grades in an
undergraduate psychology course and found exactly
that the lower level traits were stronger predictors of
grade outcomes. In this case, the researchers even
concluded that broad factor measures may be
counterproductive in behavior prediction and
explanation, but there does not seem to be many
others in the field who would concur with this
degree of statement. Lounsbury, Welsh, Gibson, and
Sundstrom, (2005), for example, examined the
relationships between all of the broad Big 5 traits
and the narrow personality traits of Optimism and
Work Drive in relation to cognitive ability in 375
high school students in Tennessee, USA (their
research sampled middle school students as well)
and found that Optimism the narrow personality
trait - and Openness were the significant predictors
in their high school sample. A pattern emerges here
highlighting Conscientiousness and Openness as the
Big 5 traits most closely linked with academic
outcomes.

III. DETAILS OF MOTIVATION

Intrinsic Motivation
Intrinsic motivation has been defined as partaking in
an action purely out of inquisitiveness, that is, for a
need to know about something; secondly, the wish to
join in an activity simply for the sake of
participating in and finishing a task; and lastly, the
desire to contribute (Dev, 1997). Intrinsic motivation
entails much determination and effort put forth by an
individual student. Students who possess intrinsic
motivation would develop goals such as, the goal to
learn and the goal to accomplish.

More recently a tripartite taxonomy of intrinsic

motivation (IM) has been developed (Vallerand et
al., 1989). The research reveals that intrinsic
motivation can be divided into three categories: IM
to know, to accomplish things, and to experience
stimulation.

Intrinsic Motivation to Know (IM-to know)

This type of IM has a vast tradition in the field of

212

educational research. It is related to several

constructs such as curiosity, exploration, learning
goals, intrinsic intellectuality, and the IM to learn
(Gottfried, 1985; Harter, 1981. IM-to know can be
defined as the act of doing an activity for the
satisfaction and pleasure that one experiences while
learning, exploring, or trying to understand
something new.
Intrinsic motivation toward accomplishments (IMto accomplish things)

International Journal of Humanities and Management Sciences (IJHMS) Volume 3, Issue 4 (2015) ISSN 23204044 (Online)

The type of motivation has been researched in

developmental psychology as well as in educational
research. IM towards accomplishment explores the
extent that individuals focus on the process of
achieving rather than the outcome. Thus, IM to
accomplishment can be defined as participating in an
activity for the pleasure and satisfaction one
experience when attempting to accomplish or create
something (Deci & Ryan, 1985).
Intrinsic motivation to experience stimulation
IM-to experience stimulation is active when some
partakes in an activity in order to experience
stimulating sensations (Excitement) that come from
ones engagement in the activity. An example of this
in academic setting would be students who attend
class in order to experience the excitement of a
thought-provoking class discussing.
Extrinsic Motivation
Differing from IM, extrinsic motivation (EM)
pertains to a wide diversity of conduct, which is
engaged in a means to an end and not for their sake.
Deci and Ryan (1985) that EM can be divided into
three categories: external regulation, introjection,
and identification.

In order to fully understand human behavior, Deci

and Ryan (1985) posited a third type of motivational
construct termed amotivation. Under amotivation,
individuals are never extrinsically or intrinsically
motivated. These individuals have feelings of being
undeceived and start asking themselves why are they
attending school. This may eventually lead to them
to stop participating in academic related activities.
Academic Motivation Scale
Vallerand et al. (1989) developed and validated in
French the Echelle de Motivation en Education
(EME). This scale is made up of seven subcales of
four items each assessing the three types of IM, three
types of EM and amotivation. In the
EME, motivation is serves to understand the
underlying why of behaviors (Deci and Ryan,
1985) and focus on the perceived reasons for
engaging in the activity. The scale asks the question
why do you attend college and items to represent
the possible answers to the question, thus, being a
representation of different motivation.
IV. METHODOLOGY
ResearchHypothesesIdentifiedfromtheabove
literature,fivenullhypothesescanbelistedfor
PersonalityTraitsandAcademicPerformance:

External Regulation
External Regulation can be defined as behavior that
is regulated through external means such as rewards
and constraints. For example, a study might study
for a test because they are forced to do some by their
parents.
Introjected Regulation
Under interojected regulation, the individual begins
to internalize the reason for his or her actions. This
form of internalization, while it is internal to the
person, it is not truly self-determined since it is
limited to the internalization of past outside
possibilities. An example would be a student who
studies because it is what is expected from a good
student.
Identification Regulation
The extent to where the behavior becomes valued
and judged and deemed important to individual and
especially if chosen by oneself, then the
internalization of extrinsic motives become regulated
through identification. For example a student might
say that they have chosen to study because it is
something important to them.
Amotivation

H1:NeuroticismhasnoeffectonAcademic
PerformanceH2:Agreeablenesshasnoeffecton
AcademicPerformance

H3:ConscientiousnesshasnoeffectonAcademic
Performance
H4:ExtraversionhasnoeffectonAcademic
PerformanceH5:OpennesshasnoeffectonAcademic
Performance

Fromtheaboveliteraturereview,thefollow
hypothesiswasdevelopedforMotivation:
H1:ExtrinsicMotivationhasnoeffectonAcademic
Performance
H2:IntrinisicMotivationhasnoeffectonAcademic
Performance
H3:AmotionhasnoeffectonAcademic
Performance
Data and Samples
Thepopulationsforthisstudywillconsistof
internationalstudentsenrolledinpublicandprivate
universitiesstudyingatthegraduateand
undergraduatelevelInTaiwanandwhotookthe

TOCFLexamisreadingandlistening.PartialLeast
Square(PLS),alsotheexperimentalquantitative
method,isselectedformoreexactanalyses.
Instrumentation
TheinstrumentthatwillbeusedtoaccesstheBig
FivePersonalityTraitsisanadaptationofBigFive
AspectScale(BFAS)developedbyDeYoung,
Quilty,andPeterson(2007)consistedof100items
tomeasuretheBigFivebothatthetraitsandaspects
levels;5variablesandthetenaspectsofthe
variables.Aselfreportedsectionforstudentstoself
reporttheirgradefortheTestofChineseasa
ForeignLanguage(TOCFL)andstudentswillbe
213

askedtoinputtheirdemographicinformationas
well.Therewere7sectionsincludedinthe
questions;whichwillbe:partI)students
demographicinformation(age,sex,major,
educationallevel,etc.);partII)Neuroticism;partIII)
Agreeableness;partIV)Conscientiousness;partV)
Extraversion;partVI)Openness/Intellect;partVII)
AcademicPerformance.Thedesignofquestionswill
beadoptedfromthe5pointLikertScale.
Toassessmotivation,theAcademicMotivation
Scalewillbeused,consistingof28items.Therewill
befourquestionstorepresenteachdimensionof
Motivationusingthe5pointLikertScaleandaself
reportingsectionforGPA.

International Journal of Humanities and Management Sciences (IJHMS) Volume 3, Issue 4 (2015) ISSN 23204044 (Online)

Partial Least Square (PLS)

PERSONALITY AND ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE

PLS uses a blend of principal component analysis, path

analysis and a set of regressions to simultaneous assess
the theory and the data (Staples & Webster, 2008). PLS
was developed in 1975 by Herman Wold. It evaluates
path models using latent variables. PLS is an effective
tool to verify both concepts and predictions. PLS will be
used in this study for the following reasons: Firstly, it is
suitable to use for small sample analysis and convoluted
models. Secondly, it is also useful for exploratory
analysis, which examines whether relationships might
exist among variables (Yu, Kim, & Kim, 2007). It is for
these explanations mentioned that PLS would be
implemented to test the hypothesized relationships among
the variables being studied.
Finding and Discussion
In the past few weeks, the final result collected up to 66
online questionnaires provided by university students in
Taiwan for the personality and motivation assessment.
There was no invalid questionnaire. The research used ten
indicators of personality to assess academic performance
but five of them were deemed to be not significant as well
as their paths. The indicators that were insignificant were
omitted. Secondly, a new model was developed for the
five significant indicators that will be used in the
research, which were withdrawal, politeness, orderliness,
assertiveness, and intellect. Each of the five indicators
was represented by three factors. It was observed that the
parameters are not significant. Thirdly, a modified model
was developed which assumed that the indicators of
personality have an indirect effect to academic
performance.
As for motivation, empirical results show that it is
significant in predicting academic performance especially
the constructs of intrinsic motivation, which are: Intrinsic
motivation- to know, towards accomplishment and
experience to simulation, which were positively linked.
Only one of the constructs under extrinsic motivation
showed positively relation in predicting academic
performance, which was external motivationidentified
regulation. The other constructs: amotivation, extrinsic
motivation-introjected regulation and extrinsic external
regulation were negatively linked in predicting academic
performance. In comparison, the best indicator to use to
assess academic performance based on the empirical
findings is motivation. Unlike personality, motivation
showed direct effect on academic performance.
TABLE I.

TABLE II

TABLE III

214

International Journal of Humanities and Management Sciences (IJHMS) Volume 3, Issue 4 (2015) ISSN 23204044 (Online)

Fig II. PTAP (Sister Model)

TABLE IV TABLE VII
MOTIVATION AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

V. RECOMMENDATIONS
WhiletherehavebeenresearchesthatshowsdirectcorrelationsamongtheBigFiveanditsaspectsofpersonalitytraits
andperformancewhetherintheworkplaceorinanacademicsetting,thisstudyshowsthatwhentestedamong

Taiwansinternationalstudentpopulation,resultsshowsthatpersonalityisnotdirectlylinkedtoacademic
performancebutratheritisindirectlylinkedafterrunningSMARTPLS.ThestudyoriginallystartedtoassesstheBig
5personalityusing
TABLE VI

theBigFiveAspectsScale,whichdivideseachofthefivepersonalitytraitsfromtheBigFiveinto2sub
traitsbutresultsshowedthatonlyfiveoftesthadasignificantlinktoacademicperformance,aftertestingthefivetraits
thatshowedsignificance,resultsshowedthatonlythetraitsoforderliness,intellect,andassertivenessshowedtohave
anindirectlinkedtoacademicperformance;threeoutofthetentraitstoassesstheBigFivePersonalityTraits.

215

International Journal of Humanities and Management Sciences (IJHMS) Volume 3, Issue 4 (2015) ISSN 23204044 (Online)
doi:10.1016/0005-7967(70)90069-0

Itcanbeestablishedthatfromthisstudy,theoverall
traitsoftheBigFivePersonalityTraitsarenot
directlyandhighlycorrelatedtoacademic
performanceamonginternationalstudentsat
universitylevelinTaiwanandhowever,when
assessedbyitsaspectsofpersonality,resultsshowed
thatitsaspectshasanindirecteffectonpersonality.
Whentheaspectstraitsaregroupedtorepresentthe
BigFivePersonalityTraits,theresultsacceptsthe
literaturereviewthatLounsbury, Welsh,Gibson, and
Sundstrom, (2005) highlighted that
Conscientiousness and Openness as the Big 5 traits
most closely linked with academic outcomes. For
motivationand academicperformance,further
studiesshouldbedonetodeterminewhetherthe
resultsofthisstudyarerepresentative.Inthecurrent
studyweusedsurveystomeasurestudents
motivation.Sincestudentsmayhaveansweredthe
questionswithsociallydesirableresponses,perhaps
interviewswithstudentswouldhaveallowedfor
morerelativeandthusmorehonestresponses
(Mattern,R,2005).Moreover,thestudyfocusedon
internationalstudentsgradesofTestofChineseasa
ForeignLanguage.Feedbackfromtheteachersor
theteachersinstructionalstrategiesmighthave
influencedthehighergrades.Theseandotherissues
needtobestudiedfurther.Finally,furtherstudyis
neededtolookintotheconnectionsbetween
motivationandacademicperformanceinmore
difficultandcomplexacademicdomainsinthis
country(Taiwan)suchasinformationtechnology,
economics,mathematicsandsciencecourses.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Firstly,IwouldliketoGodforthisamazing
opportunitytostudytointheInternationalHuman
ResourcesDevelopmentProgramandexperiencing
thebeautifulcountryandcultureofTaiwan.
SecondlyIwouldliketogratefullyandsincerely
thankChengPingShih,forhisguidance,
understanding,patience,andmostimportantly,his
friendshipduringmystudiesattheNationalTaiwan
NormalUniversity.
REFERENCES
Ashton, M. C., Lee, K., Vernon, P. A., & Jang, K. L. (2000). Fluid
intelligence, crystallized intelligence, and the openness/intellect
factor. Journal of Research in Personality, 34(2), 198207.
doi:10.1006/jrpe.1999.2276
Conrad, M. A. (2006). Aptitude is not enough: How personality
and behavior predict academic performance. Journal of Research
in Personality, 40(3), 339-346. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2004.10.003
Gray, J.A. (1970). The psychophysiological basis of introversionextraversion. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 8(3), 249-266.

Halamandaris, K. F., & Power, K. G. (1999). Individual

differences, social support and coping wImith examination stress:
A study of the psychosocial and academic adjustment of first year
home students. Personality and Individual Differences, 26(4),
665685. doi:10.1016/S0191-8869(98)00172-X
Hogan, R., & Hogan, J. (1992). Hogan personality inventory
manual. Tulsa, OK: Hogan Assessment Systems.
Hough, L.M., Eaton, N.K., Dunnette, M.D., Kamp, J.D. &
McCloy, R.A. (1990). Criterion-related validities of personality
constructs and the effect of response distortion on those validities.
Journal of Applied Psychology, 75(5), 581-595. doi:
10.1037/0021-9010.75.5.581
Jang, K. L., Livesley, W. J., Ando, J., Yamagata, S., Suzuki, A.,
Angleitner, A., ... & Spinath, F. (2006). Behavioral genetics of the
higher-order factors of the Big Five. Personality and Individual
Differences, 41(2), 261-272. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2005.11.033
Johnson, J. A. (1994). Clarification of factor five with the help of
the AB5C model. European Journal of Personality, 8(4), 311314.
doi:10.1002/per.2410080408
Jonassaint, C. R., Boyle, S. H., Kuhn, C. M., Siegler, I. C.,
Copeland, W. E., & Williams, R. (2010). Personality and
inflammation: The protective effect of openness to experience.
Ethnicity & Disease, 20(1), 1114.
Kendler, K. S., Kuhn, J. & Prescott, C. A. (2004). The
interrelationship of neuroticism, sex, and stressful life events in
the prediction of episodes of major depression. American Journal
of Psychiatry, 161(4), 631-636. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.161.4.631
Lounsbury, J. W., Welsh, D. P., Gibson, L. W., & Sundstrom, E.
(2005). Broad and narrow personality traits in relation to
cognitive ability in adolescents. Personality and Individual
Differences, 38(5), 1009-1019. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2004.06.022
McCrae, R., & Costa P. T. (1997). Conceptions and correlates of
openness to experience. In Hogan, R., & Johnson, J. A., et al.
(Eds.), Handbook of personality psychology (pp. 825847). Tulsa,
OK, USA.
McCrae, R. R., & John, O. P. (1992). An introduction to the fivefactor model and its applications. Journal
of Personality, 60(2), 175-215. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-6494.1992.tb00970.x

Millon, T. & Davis, R. O. (1996). Disorders of personality: DSMIV and beyond. John Wiley & Sons.
Noftle, E. E., & Robins, R. W. (2007). Personality predictors of
academic outcomes: big five correlates of GPA and SAT scores.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93(1), 116.
doi:1037/0022-3514.93.1.116
Paunonen, S. V., & Ashton, M. C. (2001). Big Five predictors of
academic achievement. Journal of Research in Personality, 35(1),
78-90. doi:10.1006/jrpe.2000.2309
Rokeach, M. (1960). The open and closed mind; Investigations
into the nature of belief systems and personality systems. New
York: Basic Books.
Trapmann, S., Hell, B., Hirn, J. O. W., & Schuler, H. (2007).
Meta-analysis of the relationship between the Big Five and
academic success at university. Zeitschrift fr
Psychologie/Journal of Psychology, 215(2), 132-151.

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self- [25] Saucier, G. (1994). Trapnell versus the lexical factor: More
ado about

determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum

nothing?. European Journal of Personality, 8(4), 291298.

DeYoung, C. G., Quilty, L. C., & Peterson, J. B. (2007). Between

facets and domains: 10 aspects of the Big Five. Journal of
personality and social psychology, 93(5), 880.

Yu, S. H., Kim, Y. G., & Kim, M. Y. (2007). Do we know what

really drives KM performance?. Journal of Knowledge
Management, 11(6), 39-53. doi: 10.1108/13673270710832154

Digman, J. M. (1997). Higher-order factors of the Big Five.

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73(6), 12461256.
doi:10.1037/0022-3514.73.6.1246

Vallerand, R. J., Blais, M. R., Brire, N. M., & Pelletier, L. G.

(1989). Construction et validation de l'chelle de motivation en
ducation (EME). Canadian Journal of Behavioural
Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 21(3),
323.

Eysenck, H. J. (1967). The biological basis of personality.

Springfield: Thomas.
Goldberg, L. R. (1992). The development of markers for the BigFive factor structure. Psychological Assessment, 4(1), 26-42. doi:
10.1037/1040-3590.4.1.26
Gottfried, Adele E. "Academic intrinsic motivation in elementary
and junior high school students." Journal of Educational
Psychology 77.6 (1985): 631.

216

Vansteenkiste, M., Zhou, M., Lens, W., & Soenens, B. (2005).

Experiences of autonomy and control among Chinese learners:
Vitalizing or immobilizing? Journal of Educational Psychology,
97(3), 468483.
Zuckerman, M. (1971). Dimensions of sensation seeking. Journal
of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 36(1), 45. doi:
10.1037/h0030478.